Ironton City Council’s finance committee has proposed a permanent budget for 2002, which spells layoffs to city workers.

Thursday, January 17, 2002

Ironton City Council’s finance committee has proposed a permanent budget for 2002, which spells layoffs to city workers.

The finance committee met last night to ratify a proposed budget that reduces employees in several city departments. The budget proposal will be presented to the full council at next Thursday’s meeting.

If approved, five positions will be eliminated – one position in the mayor’s department, one in the police dispatch, and three in the city engineering office.

The budget proposal came with protests from mayor Bob Cleary. He requested the finance committee give him time to review the budget proposal, compare it with the proposal he has made and reach a synthesis. Cleary said he only received the budget last night at the meeting and needed time to try and crunch the numbers.

Councilman Brent Pyles said it was important for council to move on a budget as soon as possible instead of continuing to fund positions that will be cut if the proposed budget passes.

By not acting on a budget immediately, Pyles said "we’re burning dollars." He added that unless the mayor could offer a major change in his budget proposal, there will still be a gap between what council and the mayor thinks will be adequate funding and an adequate carryover amount.

Cleary said council was "trying to prove a point" to the voters because the tax issue failed. He said, "we’re going to layoff and make the community suffer."

Finance committee and council chair Jesse Roberts rebutted.

"I’ve been saying all along, if the income tax didn’t pass, there will have to be cuts," he said.

Roberts added that "council’s not being vindictive" and cutting services because voters shot down the tax issue last fall, but council is taking steps to keep the city financially afloat by not spending a large amount of the budget’s carryover.

"We’re spending our savings," Roberts said, "Cuts can come this year or twice as hard next year."

Pyles echoed Roberts’ sentiments.

"Say what you want," he said, "this isn’t a shot at the voters."

Pyles added that the city is spending more money than it is taking in and "we’re just swirling around the rim ready to go down the hole."

Councilman Richard Price added that because the tax issue wasn’t approved by the voters and because the municipal fee expires this year, the city is in a precarious financial condition. Price said cuts have to be made because he would not support levying an additional fee on Ironton residents.

Cleary argued that he "couldn’t see" having a $400,000 to $500,000 carryover into 2003, stating, "I can’t answer what will happen in 2003" but feels like "cuts right now are unwarranted."

Cleary added that "council sets the budget and I’ll live within it."